How to Design Your Lighting

Your rooms are at their best when they have both mood lighting and task lighting, making sure that you have lighting plan will mean that you get the most out of your room. So if you’re designing your new build or doing major renovation work or you’re simply sick of how dark a certain room is, a lighting plan will help you get the perfectly lit room that you want.

What Do You Need From the Room?

There are a number of questions that you should ask yourself before making a lighting plan.

What do you use the room for? Think about whether you need bright light, or more ambient lighting.

What could you use the room for? Consider the possibilities if it was lighter, or had more ambient lighting.

What’s on display in the room? Is there a particular feature that you want to stand out- artwork or a mirror?

Where does the natural light come in? Could this be enhanced?

At what time of the day is the room used most?

Who uses the room most frequently? Older people may need more light than a child, for instance.

Make the Plan

Either on paper, or using computer software, create a plan of your room to help you visualise the ideal places for light sources. Try to draw it to scale as it is easier to see how the lighting will look, but it is not necessary.

Mark immovable fixtures, such as doors, windows, fireplaces, stairs etc. Then, mark existing sockets. Remember that often homes don’t have enough sockets for the amount of electrical items you want or need to run. Determine where the circuits will be and where your light switches should be logically.

Mark your furniture out, and which way people will be facing when they use them, for instance, towards the television, and facing the desk, or towards the window.

Remember to be practical. Avoid making it overly complicated and remember that, depending on the type of bulbs you use, you may have to change them. If you use dimmer switches, then lights can be dual purpose, both task and mood lighting; spotlights can be pointed in different directions; and lamps can be moved.

Scotlight Direct

You can find a whole variety of different lights at www.scotlightdirect.co.uk, from fixtures and fittings, to bulbs and switches.

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Designs by Studio C is your DIY connection to How-To information, DIY projects and free furniture plans. Have questions about the plans? Contact me at cher@designsbystudioc.com!

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